Users of the Mersey Tunnels were facing severe delays as cars became stranded at the entrances and exits. The Merseyrail network continued to operate but also with severe delays.

Bus companies First Wirral, Stagecoach Cumfybus and Strawberry all halted services, while Arriva Southport and HTL were operating but warned of severe delays.

A number of flights into and out of Liverpool John Lennon Airport were cancelled or delayed, and those due to fly were advised to check with tour operators and airlanes to see if their plane was taking off.

Mersey Ferries even cancelled their Christmas party cruise after the Royal Daffodil became covered in ice and visibility on the estury dropped as the blizzard began.

Roads in and around Liverpool were virtually impassable for a while as cars skidded and slid trying to get up and down streets blanketed in snow.

A spokesman for Liverpool City Council told the ECHO lorries were out and about gritting major routes, as they had been for the previous fortnight, but stressed grit was not an instant cure-all solution, as it takes a while for the grit to start working, and around two hours for the council’s fleet to get round the city.

Traffic lights were also affected by the deluge, with one commuter describing a set of lights at the junction between Hardman Street, Berry Street and Renshaw Street as “going heywire” and changing colour every few seconds.

In Liverpool city centre the bad weather didn’t deter thousands of partygoers out and about on one of the busiest nights of the year.

With hundreds of office parties taking place at venues around the city, many office workers were out and about letting their down when the snowfall began.

Impromptu snowball fights began in the street and people making their way home supported each other as slipping on the compacted snow became a real hazard.

On what is traditionally one of the busiest nights of the year for the emergency services, Merseyside Police said they received around the number of calls they were expecting.

The snow is due to stop falling on Merseyside in the early hours of the morning, according to a Met Office forecast, but the big freeze looked set to continue into the weekend, with temperatures going as low as -7 on Saturday night.

No more snow is forecast for next week, and the days are predicted to be very cold but sunny and the nights clear.